Red Partridge Orpington informational hatch thread

[K0k0shka]

<cringes> Bad habit, IMO.
Watch your eyes and especially your kids.

I love it though! I'm always careful with eyes, of course. Haven't been pecked in the eye since I was a kid. And my own kids are too clumsy and hyperactive to earn shoulder-level trust from the chickens so they don't get perched on like this. I love the chick stage because they are all light and agile enough to climb me. When full grown, Orps are too big, heavy and lazy to bother with anything higher than my lap. The Barnevelders, though, being half their size and weight, still like to perch on my shoulder/back even now that they are full grown

It would be really cool if she would take them on, would remove integration woes from your scenario. Even if she doesn't, it's likely the littles will group together eventually.

It would certainly make life a lot easier for me. I have my doubts though. Broody is already stepping back in defending her own chicks from the flock, letting them figure out social dynamics on their own. For chicks that are already part of the flock, that's fine, but completely new chicks would need extra protection, which I don't know if she'd be willing to provide at this point..... I'll start with crated introductions and play it by ear.

 

[K0k0shka]

The babies met their aunties today! There was no hostility or alarm from the hens, just curiosity. The broody's babies were very interested in these little potential playmates. And the broody herself went to the crate first, and showed a lot of interest in the babies. At one point she even started clucking at them and pretended to pick something up from the ground for them, and they instantly ran to her and poked their heads out at her between the bars of the crate! There might be hope after all. If I can get her to trade her chicks for mine, that would be the best outcome! I'll try to do daily visits, and maybe try to get the run partition up sooner, so I can let them out behind it for parts of the day. Supervised, still, but I want to give them more room to roam around in and get used to the flock. Some of the chicks are still very under-feathered, compared to the broody's chicks, and get cold after a short while (and come snuggling in my armpit to warm up ) so until they feather out a bit more, I'll stay with them and bring them in when they get cold. I don't want to bother with the MHP in the coop this time.

Тhe broody:

 

[K0k0shka]

Now that they’ve had a taste of freedom, they’re trying to break out! May need to get their run partition up sooner than I thought...

 

[K0k0shka]

Guys!!! My chickens are awesome And my broody in particular. I put up the divider in the run and let the brooder chicks out on one side to explore more freely. The hens came to check them out, but lost interest quickly and went back to their business. The broody, on the other hand, was VERY interested. She kept pacing back and forth trying to find a way in, clucking motheringly at them and trying to feed them bits of greenery. They were very interested in her, too. It was all going so well that I got brave and decided to open the divider a little bit... about a foot. Two of my chicks ran over to the broody and had their heads together with hers pecking stuff off the ground that she was showing them!!! They hung out together for a while, then my chicks came back to my lap. They did that a second time, when she called from much farther away - maybe about 10 feet from me - two chicks practically flew at her, wings flapping, to see what she'd found on the ground. They fluttered playfully for a bit and then came back to me again. None of the other hens did anything. No chasing or pecking or angry sounds whatsoever!

Now, I'm not going to get ahead of myself and dump them in there permanently, but I have to say, I have more hope now. The hens accepted the broody's chicks without any complaints, so I guess that was a good sign. And the broody herself has been a sweetheart throughout. I was expecting murder, but everybody seems cool so far! Yay for even-tempered breeds that get along with everybody!

I will continue with the supervised visits and keep opening the divider to let them mingle more. If this goes well and the broody adopts my babies and helps them integrate, it will save me a whole bunch of labor I was preparing to dedicate to partitioning the coop (with a second pop door and everything).

I didn't get any photos or videos from when they were actually together, because I was busy collecting my jaw from the floor, but I did take some of broody interacting with the babies through the wire:

 

[aart]

FanTAStic!!

because I was busy collecting my jaw from the floor,

 

[K0k0shka]

Good and bad news regarding my integration attempts. I took the brooder chicks to the partitioned area in the run again today, broody really wanted in so I let her (and her chicks) in with mine. My kids were with me and my younger one had thoughtfully put a handful of scratch on the ground for them to find. Broody called everybody to the candy and offered it to all the chicks, and was adorable surrounded by all 8 fuzzy butts!!! They hung out together for a while and I think I'm confident enough to trust her not to kill my babies. I think she quite likes them. However, we have a new problem. Her two boys HATE my chicks!!! They are all 4 weeks old now and I guess the boys are getting a little bossy. They've been challenging each other by flaring their hackles and jumping at each other, and so have my boys, but it's all pretend. When broody's boys got close to my chicks though (regardless of sex) they'd do all that AND peck them mercilessly, and I mean not just peck but grab and pull and not let go until they pluck the fluff off! None of them do that in any other context. The little butts are acting hostile and are speeding up their eviction with that crap. I mean, it makes sense, they don't want to share their mom, but still. My chicks had never been pecked or harassed and didn't know how to respond. They didn't fight back, but didn't run away either, they just stood there, stunned and confused, while they were being plucked... Ugh.

This is seriously messing up my integration plan. I'll need to do something, soon. The end goal is to give the broody's 3 chicks, plus all of my boys, to my friend who'll raise them for me on her farm until they're fit to eat. I was hoping to do it all at once - move them all together so it's less hassle for her, and less stressful to them, as they'll all be on neutral territory and may not fight as much. I'd do it now but I'm still not 100% sure on all of my chicks yet... I'll post the 4 week pictures and see what guesses I get. At this point I'm positive about 2 boys and 1 girl, almost sure on a second girl, and not at all sure on the fifth one. It's my favorite, so I want to give it a chance...

I need to act fast, for 2 main reasons: 1) the chicks in the brooder are getting really destructive and ripping up the cardboard, so they need to go outside soon, but I don't want them getting beat up all day by those brats. And 2) I don't want any chance of crowing, because of my a-hole neighbors and the hell they put me through last summer, and somebody I know just posted a video of her 4.5-week-old cheeping chick crowing already... So the broody's boys are a ticking time bomb and they need to go soon.

I was REALLY hoping the broody would adopt my chicks and help them integrate, and I think she's willing, but every time her chicks harass mine, she breaks up the fight by taking her sons' side and pecking my victim chick. Not too hard and I'm not concerned about them getting hurt, it's just socially confusing and stressful to them to be getting mixed signals by her. One chick got the crap pecked out of him by her son, and then got pecked by her as well as a response, and at the end he was so stunned and shocked, poor thing, he just stood there frozen, looking at me... (they still run to me for comfort so I was hoping they'd have a mother figure in her to replace me when they go out, but not if she's pecking them).

So I think my options are to either integrate without relying on her (by keeping my chicks behind the divider longer), or get rid of her chicks and hope she doesn't take it out on mine in the PTSD of losing her babies. Or, actually, a third option - I get rid of the broody's 2 boys and my 2 boys now, and integrate my remaining potentially female chicks with the flock with more time for mingling. That way the broody still gets to have one of her own chicks (which I think is female, and which isn't acting hostile towards mine at all), and the overall stress and fighting is reduced when the boys are out of the equation. So if she doesn't have to referee, she might accept my chicks more easily. And if my unclear chick ends up male, I'll just have to cull it (if rehoming doesn't work out).

I'm sorry this got so long. This is too much chicken drama and I'm trying to figure out what to do. Advice would be appreciated!

 

[K0k0shka]

4 week photo update!
Please give me your best guesses... I need to rehome the boys soon, as per the drama described in the post above

I think I may have a second girl - wohoo! The Baby's shoulder feathers are coming in very evenly patterned and lighter, the way they did on the first girl (Pooh), and unlike the other chicks'. Her comb is still very small and pale, too. So I have my hopes on The Baby to join Pooh in the permanent flock.


Pooh - by now I'm certain she's a girl, because of her feather pattern. But she has a nice small comb, too.

Lemonade is definitely a boy. Aside from the big red comb and wattles and the thick legs, he's also big and very heavy. Interestingly, his breast is coming in patterned, but it's not the same kind of pattern as on Pooh's breast. Lemonade's has very big broad black areas on each feather, as opposed to Pooh's which just have a smaller black dot. Not sure if that matters... I guess we'll see how the others develop theirs.

Blinky, another very obvious boy. He's the slowest to feather out, but is otherwise big and getting heavy, too:

The Pretty One. This one confuses me, because it has SO much black all over - big solid areas of black breaking up the pattern - which is not a good sign, but at the same time, its comb is so very small and pale compared to Lemonade's or Blinky's... This one has suddenly become quite affectionate with me, taking Blinky's spot as my cuddle favorite, so I'm still hoping. This is the one I need most help with, because I need to figure out whether to rehome it with the boys, or keep it with me with the girls...

The Baby's feathering is starting to look more and more like Pooh's, and I'm gaining confidence that it's a girl. Also, the comb is still small and pale.

Recap: my guess is Lemonade and Blinky are boys, Pooh and The Baby are girls, and The Pretty One is still unclear - I'd say girl based on the comb, but boy based on the feather pattern (keeping in mind that these aren't pure partridges so the pattern may be imperfect in its development). I need to figure out what The Pretty One is though, and soon.

What do you guys think?

 

[FeatherTay]

Yay! You have another hatching thread i didn’t know about! Reading everything now!

 

[K0k0shka]

Yay! You have another hatching thread i didn’t know about! Reading everything now!

Had to go back and check... Still getting used to your new name Hiiiii!

 

[FeatherTay]

Notes took while reading your thread:
‘I’m so sorry to hear about your little partridge.
Omg I hope your broody stays on the nest! That would be amazing!
Day 20? Babies wanted out!
Come on #8 You can do it! Great Job on assisting! You did an amazing job!
Awwwwe I’m so glad your broody chicks hatched! Im so happy for you and mama!
What!? Your partridges are SOOO prett! Hoping for some hens!
!!! I almost didn’t read the “almost” in the sentence “I almost lost one of the broody’ s chicks” and I was so scared! Im so glad you caught it!
Are the yellow hens your last years lemon cuckoos by chance? If So, my have they grown! They are so pretty!
I love seeing your chicks adventures!
Im praying you get the partridge color you’re looking for!
Ive had many chicks like blinky. I don’t know why this happens thought! I’m glad he’s looking better!
Come on chicks! Be girls! How hard can it be?
Wow! That glow up on your partridge rooster! He looked so cool.
Enjoy your time with them! It just makes it more specia!
Ugh I want a Barnvelder sooo bad!
Im sorry about the aggression I can’t help with that stuff, never had a broody I hope someone can help though!
However I can help with this...
My guesses and I would like to think educated guesses
Pooh- Pullet
Lemonade-Rooster.
Blinky- Rooster
The Pretty One- Pullet
The Baby- Pullet
Thank you for posting this thread! I love watching your threads and reading them! They are always like a book- filled with highs and lows and plot twists!